


Falling off the Friendship Wagon

by Bella_Monoxide



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Friendship, M/M, Pining, Relationship Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 09:43:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7613200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bella_Monoxide/pseuds/Bella_Monoxide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick and Daryl are best friends. Or are they..?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Enough is Enough

**Author's Note:**

  * For [demented_queen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/demented_queen/gifts), [pharmtechgirl71](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pharmtechgirl71/gifts), [KrissyG927](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrissyG927/gifts).



> I asked my friends for a prompt. This is what happened...

"I'm personally offended that you didn't ask me to be your pretend boyfriend."

Cringing, Daryl cast a careful sideglance at Rick, but no luck. He instantly saw his fear confirmed – Rick was offended, and the honest-to-god pout he was wearing was only increasing Daryl's uneasiness. Feeling like shit, Daryl tried to explain.

"But Rick," he began quietly, "what was I supposed to do? When that assbutt Shane got up in my face, you weren't even there..."

"Yeah yeah," Rick interjected, his voice even colder than before, "and it just so happened that Gareth, out of all the possible people, stood near enough to pick up that clue. I know." Shaking his head, he added "I saw it all happen from across the room."

Alarmed, Daryl stopped in his tracks, but Rick only noticed after he had taken another few steps on the sidewalk they had been walking along on their way back from the corner store, headed to the highschool they both attended.

"You saw it?" Daryl parroted, looking highly uncomfortable now. When Rick just nodded, averting his eyes, Daryl threw up his hands and exclaimed "But even if you had been there instead, who would have believed that charade? You're straight, Rick, remember?" He let out an audible sigh before he continued. "Remember Lori, Rick..?"

"Oh, you just had to bring that back up, huh?" Rick groused. "I made a mistake, I know, but everybody does. Besides, how the hell was I to know that she'd just go and fuck Shane behind my back?!"

Daryl, an apologetic smile on his face, walked up to Rick to reduce the distance between them. "Imma sorry, a'ight?" He whispered almost inaudibly, falling back into his thick drawl, a sure sign that he was nervous. "But like you said, everybody makes mistakes."

"Great," Rick said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "now I've even given you an out with what I just said." He sighed, rolling his eyes, before he went on. "Did you at least get to enjoy your pretend relationship with the elusive Gareth?" He asked, aiming for teasing, but utterly failing.

He was not even able to hold Daryl's gaze as he waited for the answer, but that barely registered with Daryl who groaned, raking both hands over his face. "Enjoy?! Gawd. That guy, I swear." Daryl shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Can you believe that he had the audacity to demand 'a blowjob for his troubles'?!"

The last part of the sentence came out in a very convincing imitation of Gareth, and Rick almost laughed – then the implied meaning of Daryl's words caught up with him.

""Are you serious?!" He almost shouted, and Daryl flinched.

"Unfortunately, yes, I'm serious." He sighed. "He even went as far as to let me know I could not possibly regret it, since he's got such a glorious cock..."

Rick, looking thunderstruck, openly gaped at Daryl who shuddered at the memory – or possibly the sheer idea of engaging in anything that involved said cock, before he continued.

"Needless to say, when I refused, he went straight back to rat me out to Shane, so now that douche still thinks I'm the biggest loser around who's got no game at all."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, Daryl trying to cool down, whereas Rick still looked pissed off somehow. But as to the reasons behind that, Daryl still had no idea.

"Come on," he said, using a soothing tone to try and calm Rick down, "how about we don't go back just yet and go to that ice cream parlor instead, huh? I'm buying you one of those Oreoshakes you love so much." He nudged Rick in the ribs as his friend nodded, and they continued their walk.

"You know," Daryl said after a while, "another reason why nobody would have believed me is that we've been best friends since before highschool."

Rick's expression darkened again, and he kept his mouth shut until they had reached the shop and grabbed a table in a corner by the window.

Rick looked Daryl straight in the eyes and asked "Best friends? That's what you think?"

Daryl, utterly confused, nodded. "Sure Rick, what else would I be thinking?"

"So," Rick plodded on, his mind to clear the air between them made up by then, "you don't think I'm attractive then? That it?"

Trying hard to keep from letting his own courage scare him, Rick waited for Daryl's answer with his breath held.

"W – what?!" Daryl uttered, flabbergasted, but before he could say anthing else, the waitress brought their drinks over, asking who the shake was for.

After placing it in front of Rick and a plain black coffee in front of Daryl, she sent a dazzling smile in Rick's direction and added "Should've guessed that the sweet drink 's for you," and with a wink, she turned back around, leaving both Rick and Daryl staring after her.

After a few minutes of shocked silence, Rick turned to look at Daryl and asked "Did that just happen?"

And Daryl, slightly distracted by the view of Rick's plump lips around the straw of his favorite shake, sucking at the thick liquid absentmindedly, only managed a nod, a dazed look on his face.

"Hey," he blurted a moment later, "see? You are attractive!"

Rick only rolled his eyes. "Yeah thanks, Daryl, but my question was if you think I am. But," he sighed, "never mind. I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday, I can take a hint." Looking up at Daryl he added "or a few, for that matter."

Daryl, at a loss as to what Rick was trying to tell him, let his eyes roam around the joint. When he noticed the waitress behind the counter, oggling Rick from afar, he sighed. "You know, she is looking over right now. Why don't you..?"

But Rick looked at him so disbelievingly that Daryl did not dare to finish the sentence.

"Why are you trying to hook me up? Ah," he added snidely, smacking his forehead, "I get it. The best friends angle again."

"Rick," Daryl blurted, "what is with you?" He shook his head before he added "But yeah, that is one reason, besides you being straight. Me having no game don't have to mean that you gotta stay alone, too. Right?"

The puzzled look Daryl wore on his chisled features turned out to be the final straw.

Suddenly calm to his very core, Rick finished drinking his shake. He pushed the glass away, turned around in his seat to face Daryl and spoke quietly. "First off, you do have game. A'ight? Geez, Daryl, whenever you go to one of those gay parties, I hear how the guys there all but eat you alive with their looks alone. Why don't you notice that for a change, huh?"

Rick shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, before he held up a hand to stop Daryl from speaking. "I am not finished yet."

Startled, Daryl shut his mouth again and leaned back in his seat, his arms folded across his broad chest, which effectively threw Rick off his track for a minute, since it emphasised Daryl's muscled up arms rather well.

Clearing his throat, Rick picked up his train of thought again, using his observations to drive his point home. "Just look at you now! Sitting there like this, showing off your toned body for everyone to see." He threw his hands up in mock surrender.

"Besides," he added, looking down for a moment, "did it ever occur to you that there might be a reason why Shane is always up in your face?"

Stunned, Daryl managed to shake his head.

"Well," Rick asked him, "how about this? Dear ole Shane used to be my childhood friend, hell, we practically grew up together."

Daryl managed to interrupt Rick here to ask in a mocking voice "Really? He always been such a ladies man..?" He waggled his eyebrows, then rolled his eyes, and for a moment it was as if nothing had happened between him and Rick, as his friend laughed out loud.

"Yeah, you could say that, he started off pretty early. Of course, he teased me for being what he called slow." He shook his head before he continued. "Anyways. One day he pulled me aside to talk to me about something he deemed to be very important, but had a lot of trouble to get out. To make a long story short, he had met a kid who had just moved into town at a store, and apparently, Shane was intrigued."

"Hm," Daryl said thoughtfully, "kid? What kid? Wait a second – do you mean to say..?"

"Yep," Rick confirmed, "a guy, not a girl. Shane found out something about himself that he had rather kept under lock up if he had had the choice. First, he tried to find out if I had met this Caesar already, asking if I thought he was a, and I quote, cool looking dude, too. At some point though, I called him out, and he even admitted that he might be bisexual."

Daryl had listened with rapt attention, and made urgent gestures with his hands when Rick stopped in his narration. Smiling briefly, Rick carried on.

"Anyways, he had a short relationship with this guy, totally under wraps of course, until Martinez, that's what he was called mostly, had enough and moved on to other partners. That was when Shane discovered that he would not mind to start something with me to tide him over..."

Daryl gasped, and Rick held up a hand again, an unmistakable warning clear on his face. "If you are about to tell me yet again that I am straight, I will not hesitate to take this discussion outside, you understand?"

Knowing full well from a long list of rather aggressive arguments he had witnessed Rick having with different people throughout the time they had been friends, Daryl kept his mouth shut.

Rick, his head tilted to the side, another sure sight of him being clearly pissed off and about to blow, nodded briefly. "Good choice. So, as I was saying... Shane. That guy, I'm telling you," he shook his head, rolling his eyes, "unbelievable. Anyways, I gave him a piece of my mind, made it very clear that I had absolutely no intentions whatsoever to be his fill-in until he found a new person to be in a relationship with."

Rick turned around in his seat again, leaning back against the backrest. "Let's just say he didn't take it too well. Never one to lose with any grace, and a couple split lips and blackened eyes later, our friendship was history."

Silence.

Rick could practically hear the wheels in Daryl's brain turning. But just when his friend made to open his mouth and offer the result his grey matter had provided him with, Rick stood, effectively shutting Daryl up before he had managed to utter one word.

Staring down into Daryl's heavily lidded eyes – those storm coloured eyes Rick had thought about more often than he cared to admit, too many times to keep track of, anyways – Rick had one more thing to say.

"I am not straight."

Before Daryl could react to that, Rick had turned around and left the café, walking with purpose briskly down the road.

 

* * *

 

He went to get his beat up truck out of the highschool parking lot, drove home, got a few things, then hurried back to his vehicle, got back in and drove until he reached a spot he had used as a secret retreat way back then.

In fact, he mused when he was sprawled out on the floor of the clearing right next to a forest lake, looking up at the sky, it was not his retreat, strictly speaking, but rather his and Shane's, in what felt like another life by now.

The forest was near the small town he grew up in, and Rick lay there, thinking back to all the exciting things he had experienced here, including that last talk with Shane.

Shaking his head, Rick remembered how his dark-haired friend had even tried to convince him with deeds rather than mere words – and that had been the point in their heated discussion when punches had started to fly, along with accusations he did not care to remember, even after all this time.

He had hated to fight with his friend, but Shane's proposition had hurt him deeply. Rick found himself utterly unwilling to engage into such a sham of a relationship. Even then, when they were mere teenagers, Rick knew that he was just not the type. For him, a relationship had to have meaning, real, honest feelings backing up a solid bond with another person.

Discovering that he did not fall exclusively for one gender had not shaken Rick too badly at first, since he had grown up with loving parents that had always taught him that diversity was ok. It only dawned on him that life as a guy with bisexual tendencies might not be so easy after his fallout with Shane.

His former friend had turned out to be a rather thorough telltale.

Needless to say, Rick had been glad when his family had to move. The new start in another town did him good, and he met Daryl fairly early on, getting along well with each other and eventually becoming good friends.

Rick closed his eyes, his arms crossed behind his head in a makeshift pillow for his head, as he thought back to how their relationship had developed – right until that time where they had been out, hunting, and forgotten to watch out for changes in the weather...

Smiling, Rick sighed deeply, remembering how it had suddenly hit him; his friend was smoking hot, and in hindsight, Rick could not understand how that fact had managed to escape him for such a long time, since they had been friends for one and a half years by then.

The mental image of Daryl, drenched from the downpoor that had managed to sneak up on them, rose in his recollection, and Rick could not help but acknowledge the fact that he had jacked off to that particular memory more often than he could count.

The only reason why he had tried to pull some kind of answer as to if Daryl found him to be even the slightest bit attractive out of his friend today had been that Rick had gotten quite desperate over time.

The incident with Gareth had been like a catalyst for him.

On that evening, observing from afar but unable to intervene, Rick realised with absolute certainty that he had to somehow act; in the very least, find out if Daryl liked him like that at all. Preferably before some other guy swept him off his feet right before Rick's eyes, cause by now he was dead sure he would not survive it.

 


	2. Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Daryl after Rick left the ice cream parlor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what makes it so hard to try and guess how many chapters a story will have, but I miscalculated yet again. So there will be three chapters to this oneshot now. Har-de-har-har.

Daryl's first instinct had been to run after Rick when he walked out of the ice cream parlor – but when he made to get up, he had found himself rooted to his seat. Sighing, he closed his eyes for a moment, thinking hard.

When he opened his eyes again, the waitress popped up in front of him, wearing a puzzled expression on her face. "Everything alright?" She asked, carefully lacing her voice with doubt. "I hope it wasn't something I said – or the shake..?"

A quick sideglance towards the empty glass Rick had left in the wake of his stagy exit nullified that assumption. Still looking baffled, the waitress remained standing at the table, waiting for Daryl to explain, but she waited in vain, as Daryl found himself unable to respond.

In the end, he just shook his head, got up after he had paid their bill, and left – only to come to a halt yet again right outside the door, where he realised that he still did not have a clue what to do next.

Some good ten minutes later, he dragged his feet back to their school, his mind clouded with the vague idea of Rick heading back there. But as he walked through the parking lot the students used, he quickly had to realise that the spot Rick had his old truck parked in that morning was now empty.

Great, Daryl though, a sigh escaping his throat. Now what?

He rubbed his eyes with both hands, thinking hard, when the bell sounded, and students started to poor out of the building. Daryl tried to figure out if Rick might have driven back home, when he saw Shane and his cronies walk around the corner, headed for the parking lot – no doubt to hang around Shane's brand-new, flashy Jeep.

Since he had gotten it from his parents, he and his gang had been flocking around the vehicle during every single break, as far as Daryl knew, listening to Shane bragging about this, that and everything.

Daryl snickered under his breath briefly as he remembered one time a couple days back, when Rick had made a comment about how they looked like a bunch of chickens, fluttering around their rooster, and the only thing missing would be for Shane to crow; of course, Rick being Rick, he had managed to get that out with an absolutely deadpan expression, which had set off an even bigger bout of laughter from Daryl.

Shaking his head over Shane's antics, Daryl made to turn and leave, when he saw the dark-haired jock headed his way, an arrogant grin on his face. Rolling his eyes inwardly, Daryl braced himself for trouble, since he could see how Shane's cronies watched with bated breath.

"Well well well," Shane said loudly, "if it isn't our resident Redneck. Whatcha doin't here, Dixon?" Pausing, Shane pretended to look around, overdoing it on purpose before he continued. "Where's your shadow, huh? Or did Rick finally have enough of your presence and dumped your trashy ass?" Shane grinned, clearly thinking he had said something clever, while his gang laughed out loud behind him.

Daryl had gotten somewhat pale over Shane's implications, as his brain somehow managed to connect his former knowledge of the jock's general behaviour with what Rick had just told him at the ice cream parlor. He had his mind made up within fractions of seconds.

Determined to use his new knowledge to his advantage, he leaned forward, rudely violating Shane's personal space, as he muttered only loud enough for Shane to hear. "What, Walsh – you jealous he spends time with me now?"

He lowered his voice even more, forcing Shane to lean forward, before he continued. "After he refused to be your fuckbuddy way back, when the two of you still were friends?" Daryl willed himself to stay in Shane's space, never wavering, until the jock was the one to pull back, shaking his head in disbelief.

But before Shane could say anything, Daryl added "Oh, you didn't think he would tell anyone that, huh? Well," he crossed his arms in front of his chest, purposely emphasising his impressive built to intimidate Shane some more before he continued.

"I guess you were wrong there, buddy. If I were you, I wouldn't be too sure people believe everything you say – or are too cowed by your antics to think for themselves just because you fed them your cooked up stories to make Rick look bad..."

Shane, clearly taken aback, had grown visibly agigated, his face flustered, a sure sign that he was about to have one of his infamous meltdowns; in witnessing which Daryl had absolutely no interest. The urge to find Rick, talk to him and hopefully clear things back up between them was all encompassing by then, and he held up a hand.

"Shane," he began, holding the jock's gaze, "you got any idea where Rick might go when he's upset?"

Shane, after a moment of staring disbelievingly at Daryl, laughed right into his face. "You got some nerve, Dixon, I'll give you that." He boomed, mock-good-naturedly. "First you pull this speech off, then you're asking me a favour? I don't think I can help you there..." He made to turn around, ready to use the out he thought he had oh so cleverly built for himself, when Daryl cleared his throat audibly.

"How would you like for everyone here to know about your, shall we say, sexual preferences, Shane..?" Turning back around fast as lightning, Shane got right up into Daryl's face – who stood his ground calmly, waiting for what Shane was about to come up with.

"You tryin' to threaten me, Dixon?!" He whispered, his voice no more than a furious rush of rambled words.

"I already did, Walsh." Daryl answered matter-of-factly. "So, what's it gonna be? You helpin' me out here, or do I have to go get the billboards ready?" He smiled at Shane, who blanched visibly, and for a minute, they just stared at each other, locked in a stand-off, while Shane's cronies were silently gaping – most likely waiting for fists to fly at any moment.

In the end, Daryl made as if to turn around, shaking his head almost imperceptibly – and that seemed to do the trick. Shane cleared his throat, a light blush gracing his cheekbones, as he whispered urgently. "I really dunno why I should help you out, Dixon."

Here, he got promptly interrupted by one of Daryl's rather signature snorts, but Shane only rolled his eyes and continued. "Alright, no need to rub it in. Geez, Daryl..." He rubbed a hand over his face. "There was this place, near that town we grew up in. If Rick's real upset, he might have driven there."

Daryl asked him for some more specific directions, got them, and went to mount his bike to drive to that place, thanking Shane under his breath, so the jock could try and save face in front of his posse.

As if on clue, Shane had some snarky parting remark for Daryl, so their little theatre towards the end of their stand-off would look more convincing to any bystanders.

"Sorry," he boomed in a mocking tone, making sure that everyone within hearing distance knew that he was not sorry at all, "can't tell you anythang 'bout Rick's hidey hole, Dixon." A little less noisy he added "Sides, I got my own problems. Well," he finished on the same level of noise he had started with, "'fraid ya gotta search for yourself..."

He added that remark on a snide, but he did not reckon with Daryl, who mumbled in a voice that only could be heard by Shane "Why, you got Lori pregnant?"

A strangled sound escaped Shane's mouth, and only for Daryl to hear – who could not help the satisfied grin when he saw how Shane had blanched, and he strolled over to his bike, a man on a mission now.

Halfway there, his ability for rational thinking caught back up with him, and he walked on, headed for the school nurse's office to excuse both Rick and himself from their last lessons of the day, and for the next day as well while he was already at it.

On his way back outside, he passed a group of girls in a hallway, and he slowed down a bit when he spotted Lori in the throng, her face all pale, hurriedly talking to her friend.

"But Paula, it was just that once without..." Lori whispered pleadingly, while Paula rolled her eyes, talking over her friend.

"Lori. Please. And why didn't you take the morning-after..?"

Daryl heard just that snippet of their conversation, but that was enough to validate his blind guess, and he tried to keep his facial expression in check as he walked on.

* * *

When he was finally on his way, he had the sense of mind to stop at the house he shared with his brother first to grab some stuff he might need once – and if – he found Rick. He met his brother in the kitchen; apparently, Merle was on break and had decided to spend it at home rather than at the garage he worked at.

"Hey, lil' brother," Merle greeted him in his usual, loud voice. Thinking that his obnoxious brother could use a muffler himself, Daryl grunted a greeting back, as he grabbed some non-perishable things to take along.

But of course, that kind of behaviour did not sit too well with the older Dixon.

"Now wait just a second here," he said, grabbing Daryl by the shoulder to pause him in his movements, "why are you in a hurry like that? Hey," he added after a moment, "why are you even home already?"

Daryl sighed, knowing that he would only be able to leave after he had given Merle a satisfying explanation. "You should stand back, or else you might catch a nasty stomach bug, you know..." He began, and understanding dawned on Merle's face.

"Ah," he chuckled, "the ole stand-by. Why you got sick, for real though?" Merle leaned back against the counter, crossed his arms over his chest, signaling that he was ready to wait for the whole story – even if it might take until the cows came home.

Daryl sighed yet again before he added "Look, Merle, I ain't got time for this."

"Then you'll make some," Merle shot right back. "Or do I need to remind you that I'm still your legal guardian, even though you're almost eighteen?"

Daryl groaned. "A'ight, but I gotta hurry, Rick is way ahead by now, so..."

"What?" Merle interrupted, looking thunderstruck. "You runnin' after Rick? Why, Daryl? You his bitch now?!" Merle, shaking his head, looked pityingly at his brother, waiting for denial – only it never came more than half-heartedly.

"I ain't nobody's bitch," Daryl whispered, but there was no heat in it. On the contrary, he looked rather timid all out of a sudden.

"Please tell me you didn't fall for your straight friend, Daryl," Merle whispered, and Daryl's head whipped around.

"I don't, I – Merle?" He shouted his brother's name. "You – how long..?" Daryl cast his eyes down, but Merle was not going to have that. He stepped up to Daryl and bowed his head, so that he was able to catch his eye.

"How long have I known you're not batting for the het-team?" Merle sighed loudly, wrapping his brother in a tight embrace as he whispered close to his ear. "Always suspected, but when you had that crush on the guy at the gas station..."

Daryl's breath hitched. "Oh gawd," he whispered against Merle's shoulder, shaking his head in embarrassment.

Merle leaned back, his arms still wrapped losely around his brother. "So," he said, all business-like, "you tellin' me it never occured to you how pretty Rick is?" Merle waggled his eyebrows, talking right over Daryl's groan.

"I know, I know, lil' brother. But you know me – wouldn't be your brother if I ain't teasing you. I'm assuming you also didn't notice those glances he shot your way? Course, he might have tried to hide those..." Merle added in a thoughtful manner, but Daryl looked incredulous by then.

"Are you telling me that Rick –" Daryl paused, waiting for Merle to tell him that he had been kidding, but his brother only returned his gaze, a look of pity on his rough features. "No way!" Daryl blurted, shaking his head, but Merle had had enough.

"Look, Daryl, believe it or not – but now tell me what happened that made you leave school early to try and follow the guy?"

In the end, Daryl explained the whole pretend boyfriend incident to Merle, who found quite a few opportunities to shake his head over that. When Daryl ended his tale, Merle asked "So now you're trying to find him and talk some more, to figure things out?"

Daryl nodded, and Merle shoved him to spurr him on. "Well good luck then, lil' brother." He grinned, and Daryl rolled his eyes as he hurried to grab all his stuff to head back out again. A couple minutes later, Merle shouted for him, and he leaned around the doorframe, exhasperated – narrowly avoinding being hit by a set of keys.

"Take the truck, I'll take the bike back to the garage. You might wanna pack some camping stuff as well, dontcha think?"

Without waiting for an answer, nor caring about Daryl's expression of disbelief over his older brother's antics, Merle returned to the kitchen, only adding nonchalantly over his shoulder "I'll presume you'll be gone for the weekend, but try and be back for school on Monday, k?"

Daryl had almost everything he could think of that he might need, including his favorite weapon for hunting, gathered together when Merle shouted from the frontyard "Daryl, I need them keys, gotta head back to the garage now!"

Grabbing his stuff, Daryl ran outside and threw everything into the back of the truck before he went and hugged his brother. "Thanks for everything, Merle," he whispered, knowing full well that his brother did not care too much for that kind of affectionate behaviour.

But Daryl felt the urge to let Merle know how much he appreciated what his older brother had done for him, and when Merle whispered back, Daryl knew that he had gotten the message.

"Love you too, lil' brother." Merle hugged him back, before he socked him in the shoulder and handed out some parting advice. "Make sure to pack some condoms and shit," he cackled before he continued, "you never know when you might be gettin' some, Darylina!"

He ruffled Daryl's hair just because he could, hopped onto the bike and was on his way before Daryl had managed to pick his jaw back up off the ground.

 


	3. Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl chases after Rick.

Rick woke with a start.

He felt disoriented, and it took him a minute to remember that he was lying on the forest floor next to that lake, his childhood retreat. He pushed himself into a sitting position in order to get up, since it only now registered on his peripheral radar why he had woken up in the first place.

He cautiously walked back to the spot he had his car parked in, his mind made up to find out who the car he had heard being turned off belonged to, as it was rather unusual for other people to visit that particular spot – at least around that time on a regular workday.

While he was on his way, he absentmindedly pondered to head back home, since he was already on his way to the car, when he saw himself confronted with the sight he had least expected.

Daryl Dixon, in the flesh, and in the middle of pulling his favorite weapon from the backseat of his brother's truck. But, being the avid hunter he was, he had heard Rick's approach and turned around.

"Rick," he whispered, his voice practically dripping with relief, "you're here, man..." He let go of his precious crossbow in order to walk towards Rick and meet him half way; but he stopped in his tracks when he saw how Rick took a step away from him, a frown distorting his handsome features.

A question dying on his lips before he had even made one sound, Daryl watched helplessly as Rick turned around briskly, walking back the way he came with his shoulders all pulled up and tense.

Daryl stood rooted to the spot for a moment, trying to comprehend the situation, but gave up quickly in order to give chase instead, his mind made up to talk to Rick, now that he had managed to find him.

Cursing under his breath, Daryl hurried along after Rick, who appeared to be a fast walker when he was angry – and he was, there was no doubt about that fact in Daryl's mind. He just could not put his finger on the reasons his friend might have; but he was determined to find out.

He came to a sudden halt when he saw that Rick had actually stopped and was standing in a clearing, staring out on a beautiful lake in the forest. Letting his eyes wander over the nature surrounding them, Daryl had a moment of awe, taking it all in.

A sigh might have slipped from between his lips, because Rick looked back over his shoulder at him, one eybrow quirked up in a silent question. Daryl stepped forward, coming to a halt next to Rick, and they both gazed across the water.

"Why," Rick whispered, before he cleared his throat audibly to start anew, louder this time, "why did you follow me here, Daryl?"

Daryl turned his head, looking at Rick with an incredulous expression on his face. "Are you really asking me that, Rick?" He shook his head. "Besides," he added after a moment, "shouldn't you be asking how I even knew where to search?"

Rick turned to look at Daryl, who held his gaze, waiting for Rick to connect the dots, and when he did, it was clearly visible on his face. His eyes widened, as his plump lips formed a perfect O before he muttered "No way."

Daryl waited, one corner of his mouth quirked up ever so slightly. Then Rick said it. "Shane?"

An infinitesimal nod of his head was enough confirmation for Rick, who added another question as soon as Daryl had moved his head ever so slightly. "How?" Rick shook his head and repeated as if he just could not believe it "How did you get Shane to tell you about this place?"

Daryl could not help the smug expression that snuck onto his face at that, and he rumbled "Turns out our local ladies man can be quite reasonable when threatened..." He feigned an innocent look, and Rick let out a short bark of laughter.

"What did you threaten him with, I wonder..?" He teased, but then the realisation hit him visibly, and a gasp escaped his mouth. "That's low, Daryl." He shook his head, looking sad. "That's real low." He looked up and into Daryl's eyes, searching for a sign that might tell him his assumption was wrong. When he found none, he asked, sounding just a tad desperate.

"Did you really threaten Shane with letting people know about his sexuality?"

When Daryl did nothing to defend himself, Rick hung his head. "I thought you were above such measures, Daryl." He turned around, about to walk away again, before he added "I thought you were the better man."

Rick only made it a few steps before Daryl's reply reached his ears.

"I was desperate, Rick, ok? Geez." Daryl rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly feeling bone-tired, when Rick replied.

"And that makes it alright? Daryl?" He shook his head again, then walked on, leaving Daryl standing by the lake.

* * *

Daryl watched helplessly as Rick walked away again, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He sank down to sit on the forest floor, Indian style, his elbows propped up on his knees, his head buried in his hands.

A strangled cry of frustration escaped his throat as he sat there, thinking about the events of the day. But only when he arrived at his talk with Merle during his musings did he see a glimmer of hope. With his resolve renewed he got up, dusted off his behind, and went back to the truck to fetch his crossbow.

He always felt weird when he did not have it with him while being in a forest, and besides, he thought, it's not like I can't find Rick, no matter how much of a headstart he's got.

With his mind made up like that, he shouldered his weapon, got the bag he brought along as well, and went to track Rick's way, starting at the lake.

After he had been at it for a while, it dawned on him that Rick had used his knowledge of Daryl against him, as he had begun to change directions every so often at some point down the path, and Daryl assumed that it had taken Rick a while to remember his abilities as a tracker, wrapped up in his righteous anger as he had appeared to be.

This realisation did nothing to calm Daryl down, though, and he got angry himself, resolving to give Rick a piece of his mind as soon as he found him. Thinking back to what Merle had told him, Daryl even considered to confront Rick with Merle's observations.

Gawd, Daryl thought to himself when Rick's tracks indicated that he had changed directions yet again, he really is trying hard to give me a run for my money; I feel like I'm competing in a scavenger hunt.

He shook his head over Rick's antics, pondering if it had even occured to his curly haired friend that he would need Daryl's skills to find his way back eventually, when he heard a crash, followed by a heartfelt curse. Daryl picked up his pace, hurrying to find out what had happened to Rick.

When he finally found him again, Rick was still sitting on the forest floor, holding his ankle, but it did not appear as if he was in too much pain; if anything, Rick looked annoyed over his mishap, and Daryl could not have stopped himself from rolling his eyes if somebody had paid him.

"You are one stubborn son of a bitch, you know that, right?" He asked in a tired voice as he kneeled down next to Rick to look his ankle over.

After a brief examination he told Rick "I don't think it's broken or anything, just a sprain," while he already rummaged around in his bag, trying to locate the first aid kit.

He handed Rick a bottle of water, and with a nod of thanks, Rick unscrewed it and took a deep drink. Daryl had gotten a bandage out and wrapped it tight around Rick's ankle, stabilising it.

"You should be able to walk back with this," he said, before he took a drink as well. Rick furrowed his brow, but before he could say anything, Daryl held up a hand. "I don't wanna hear another word right now, Rick. You walked this far in your righteous anger, and now we gotta get back, so I suggest you save your breath for now and get going."

He got up, held out a hand to help Rick up as well. His friend had enough sense to take it, and soon they were on their way back, Daryl with most of his focus concentrated on finding the right path, while Rick hobbled along, trying hard not to tumble down again.

They had made it half way, according to Daryl's rough estimation, but by then it had become clear that Rick needed some rest before he could try to make it all the way back to their cars; and Daryl seriously doubted that he would be able to.

"Tell you what," he started, "you sit down here and rest, while I go back to get the camping gear."

An incredulous look from Rick prompted Daryl to explain further, and he laughed before he continued.

"Was Merle's idea really, he told me to take the truck so I could bring some gear just in case. Man," he sighed, "am I glad I listened. Besides," he added, "I already excused us both for today and tomorrow, so we got ourselves a long weekend, due to a nasty stomach bug. Whaddaya say to that, huh?"

Rick had to laugh when Daryl even wiggled his eyebrows, and he sat down to wait for Daryl's return. His friend left the water bottle for him, then went back to his truck.

While Daryl was on his way to get the camping gear, Rick sat on a tree stump, his injured leg laid up to rest, and thought about the situation he had gotten himself in. Cause even though he was still angry, he was also being honest with himself, admitting that he had brought a huge portion of his predicament on himself.

Sighing, Rick closed his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was then that a thought hit him, knocking him right out; he and Daryl would most likely spend the night, if he had understood correctly, and suddenly, Rick was afraid.

Sure, during their many hunting trips they had spent quite a few nights out in the woods, sharing a tent with each other. But now Rick feared that it would be nothing short of torture for him to share space with Daryl – and during the night, no less.

Rick groaned, his head buried in his hands by then, as he shook it vehemently, silently calling himself an idiot for the umpteenth time.

He sat like this for some long minutes, and when he finally looked back up and into the trees surrounding him, he had to wipe a few tears out of the corners of his crystal blue eyes. Making his mind up to try and be brave, he could not help but still be very much afraid of what the next couple of hours would bring.

* * *

Eventually, Daryl appeared in Rick's line of vision again, carrying quite some gear, and Rick sighed quietly as he watched him put it all down to begin setting up a tent for them. Seeing Daryl work made it obvious that he had achieved his impressive built through manual labour alone, and Rick liked that about him.

He had even found out that Daryl was proud of that fact himself, though Daryl's idea of being proud was a rather timid version of the general understanding of that term, and Rick remembered how that had dimmed his own gladness over Daryl being confident about one of his own characteristics for once.

Rick was pulled out of his own head when Daryl suddenly began to talk.

"Oh, before I forget it – I drove into town real quick to call your home, told your parents on that answering machine about us spending the weekend together."

Nodding, Rick smiled reluctantly. "That was thoughtful of you, thanks." He sighed before he added "I left a note, but it didn't span such a long time, of course."

Curious, Daryl squinted at Rick. "What did you tell them who you were with?"

Rick shrugged. "I only said that I would spend the day with you, most likely sleeping over at your place. You know, like we..." Suddenly rather horrified, he gaped at Daryl, who glared right back.

"Gotcha," he said, his voice dangerously low. "So you used that to get some time alone, even though we had that fight today?" Shaking his head in mock accusation, Daryl added "I dunno, Rick – dontcha think that's a little, um, how should I put it – low..?"

Rick huffed. "Alright, alright, you got me back!" Rolling his eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest and murmured "I hope you're happy now," as he averted his eyes, knowing full well that he was acting like a child, but unable to help it.

The next time he heard Daryl speak, it was very quiet, but much closer than before. Looking up, Rick realised that the hunter had once again made use of his excellent skills and had sneaked up on him while he had been looking away.

Kneeling right in front of Rick, Daryl spoke. "How about we put all that behind us, huh? Sorta start anew?" Daryl suggested. "Let's talk it over."

Rick reluctantly gazed into Daryl's eyes as he spoke, and when he was done, Rick said in a quiet voice "Ok, Daryl." He took a deep breath before he continued, trying to calm himself down. "It's probably best to try and get all this solved between us, so at least we will know where we're at with each other."

Rick looked rather lost after this statement, and Daryl had to restrain himself from hugging his friend to comfort him. Instead, he focused on the underlying message he thought he had spotted.

"What exactly are you saying, Rick? Sounds to me like you think we might be partin' ways after this?" He searched Rick's face for some sign, telling him that he got it wrong – but Rick looked even more sad than before.

Daryl sat down rather abruptly, and for a long moment, he just looked off into the lush green surrounding them, thinking how the beautiful scenery was ill befitting the situation.

Eventually, a single word escaped his lips almost without his permission, as he whispered "Why?"

When Rick did not answer for a longer stretch of time, Daryl shook his head as if to clear it. "Ok, then," he murmured, "if you don't feel like answering, at least not yet, lemme tell you something instead."

He waited for Rick to nod his agreement, then explained. "I would never have outed Shane, Rick. I only used that as a weapon against him, hopin' he would talk. And," he added almost inaudibly, "you should know me better than that."

Daryl looked at his interwoven hands, so Rick would not see his face, but they had been friends for so long that Rick still sensed how deeply he had hurt Daryl with his words. After a minute, Rick nudged Daryl lightly, trying to get him to look at Rick, before he said "I'm sorry, Daryl. You're right, I shoulda known better."

Daryl nodded, accepting the apology, but kept on looking at Rick. His message was clear – in his opinion, it was Rick's turn to explain his own behaviour. A tiny smile played around Rick's mouth, and he gathered up his courage.

"When I saw you with Gareth, something just, I dunno, shifted, I guess." He sighed. "I realised that I really don't like seeing you with other guys."

Daryl gasped. "Wait," he blurted after a moment of thinking, "but why, I mean – you're... you're jealous?!"

Rick almost laughed, since Daryl wore such an incredulous expression on his face, but the situation was just too serious for that. Besides, he did not want to risk Daryl thinking he was being made fun of.

"I think so, yeah." Rick explained instead. "Wasn't easy to admit that to myself. Then," he added, "I tried to find out if you ever even thought of me as a guy, or as your best friend only."

"I..." Daryl began to stutter, only to shut his mouth again right afterwards, unsure as to what to say. After a minute of desperate waiting on Rick's part, he sighed yet again.

"Does that mean you didn't, or are you just too surprised?" Rick asked.

Daryl appeared to have picked up on Rick's distress by then, as he tried to give him an honest answer. "I guess I never really thought about it." But when he noticed Rick's expression, he added quickly "Rick. I was a hundred percent sure that you're as straight as..."

"Yeah yeah," Rick groused, "...that ruler, I know." He put his head in his hands, pushed them both through his curly hair, then looked up at Daryl again. "Daryl, would you go out with me? On a..."

"...date?!" Daryl blurted, still incredulous over the development during the last couple of hours.

Rick rolled his eyes before he answered. "Yes, Daryl, like a date. Gawd," he groaned, "why is it so hard for you to believe that you're desirable?" Rick stared at Daryl, practically willing him to understand, until Daryl hung his head.

After a longer silence between them, Daryl suggested for them to eat something, then go to bed, and Rick agreed, sensing that Daryl needed some more time to roll things around in his head. But he had a hard time keeping his temper in check, too agitated over the situation himself.

Later, when they were finally lying in the tent, so close to one another that they were almost touching, Daryl whispered. "I would be pretty stupid, not seeing how attractive you are, Rick. But I guess I just never, I dunno; probably just tried not to think about it." He sighed. "We're such good friends, and I wanted to keep that." 

He could practically hear Rick's eyeroll in the almost completely dark tent, and a snort confirmed his suspicions. Moments later, the sleeping bag next to him rustled, and Rick chuckled. "You're cute, Daryl."

Caught off guard by the compliment, Daryl rolled around as well in his own sleeping bag, facing Rick – and the moment he laid eyes on his friend's face, he knew that Rick had done it on purpose to get a reaction out of him.

Rick smiled, barely visible though it might have been in the darkening tent; but his face fell when Daryl murmured under his breath. "Oh, so you didn't mean it, then."

He sounded so crestfallen that it just broke Rick's heart.

"Daryl," he whispered with urgency, "of course I mean it! Why are you so willing to think you're not?"

When Daryl did not react, Rick asked him if he did bring the lamp they had used on previous trips as well. Daryl got up to rummage around in his backpack, got the lamp out and switched it on, asking Rick what he needed the light for. Daryl was almost completely back into his sleeping bag, when Rick's answer knocked him down.

"I wanna see you, of course." Rick smiled fondly when Daryl crashed that last bit of the way down with an audible thump. "Daryl, sometimes you're just too adorable," he added, and Daryl only managed to let out a noise under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'hmpf'.

Rick observed as Daryl lay with his eyes closed for a long minute. Eventually, Daryl huffed. "Stop staring, Grimes, you're creepin' me out."

Rick chuckled, and, quite daringly, reached out to wipe the strands from Daryl's forehead. Daryl's eyes promptly snapped open, as Rick muttured "I don't think so."

Daryl snorted. "What," he asked, "you won't stop stairin', or..."

"I'm not creepin' you out," Rick clarified. His hand had come to rest on Daryl's jaw, and they looked into each other's eyes for a long minute. Daryl, still more disbelieving than anything else, whispered almost inaudibly. "So you mean it then?"

Thinking that somebody would have to take action, or else they would never move forward from there, Rick leaned even closer. "Would you like me to show you?"

Daryl's eyes got impossibly wider as he tried to answer; but when he opened his mouth to speak, only a soft moan came out. Taking that as a yes, Rick leaned the last few inches in and gently touched his lips to Daryl's.

The change in Daryl's behaviour was so sudden, it caught Rick completely off guard.

Daryl, overwhelmed by his own feelings, tangled one hand into Rick's curly hair while the other grabbed Rick by the shoulder and pulled him down, flush with Daryl's own body. This time, it was Rick who uttered a 'hmpf', and then they both stopped thinking for a long while.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like the ending? Let me know in a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Included in the prompt where the opening line, the turnip truck idiom and a couple of words I had to use (audacity, oreoshake, ogles and cock). The pairing was a given as well :)  
> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and please let me know your thoughts!


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